US 6,719,163 B1Granted

Polymeric fuel container

AssigneeTI Group Automotive Systems Technology Center GmbH

InventorsPierre Delbarre, Michael Kloess

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Abstract

A fuel container with a wall of at least two wall shells which are separated at least partially from each other by an air gap between them. The dual shell wall structure helps to substantially improve the mechanical properties of the fuel container. Preferably, each wall shell consists of a plurality of layers of different polymeric or plastic materials. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a four layer co-extruded structure is provided; each shell comprises a layer of high density polyethylene (HDPE), a layer of filler material of treated, recycled plastics material referred to as “re-grind” and a vapor barrier layer of a plastic material substantially impermeable by hydrocarbons. The HDPE-layer may, be one surface layer of each wall shell and the vapor barrier layer is preferably the other surface layer of each wall shell. Depending on the material properties of the vapor barrier layer, an additional adhesive layer may also be necessary for connection with the adjacent layer.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A fuel container for automotive vehicles, comprising:

a first container wall half, a separate second container wall half, each wall half formed of polymeric material and having at least two wall shells each of polymeric material and which are separated at least partially from each other by an air gap between them throughout at least a majority of the surface area of the wall half and defining at least one fuel vapor chamber between the two wall shells, a separate substantially continuous layer of polymeric material substantially impermeable by hydrocarbons, exposed to the interior of the container and adhered to one side and over substantially all of the surface area of each wall shell adjacent the interior of the container, the shells of each wall half bonded together continuously about their peripheries and the first and second wall halves bonded together continuously about their peripheries with the layers of polymeric material impermeable by hydrocarbons adjacent the interior of the container fused together continuously about their peripheries to provide an essentially continuous vapor barrier layer on the interior of the container.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.